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WEEK OF PRAYER: Vulnerable women in New Orleans find hope

Helping Baptist Friendship House clients gain life skills is part of the ministry missionary Kay Bennett (right) directs in New Orleans. Bennett is a North American Mission Board Week of Prayer missionary.

Photo by Susan Whitley

Leading Bible studies and teaching budgeting skills are all part of the ministry provided by Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans. Kay Bennett (center) directs the center and is a North American Mission Board Week of Prayer missionary.

Photo by Susan Whitley

North American Mission Board Week of Prayer missionary Kay Bennett (right) meets with a client at Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans. Bennett oversees the ministry's efforts to meet the needs of clients and show them the love of Christ.

Photo by Susan Whitley

Mississippi native Kay Bennett directs the ministry of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans. Bennett is a North American Mission Board Week of Prayer missionary.

Photo by Susan Whitley

EDITOR'S NOTE: The annual Week of Prayer for North American Missions, March 3-10, and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering provide support for missionaries who serve on behalf of Southern Baptists across North America. With a goal of $70 million, this year's offering theme is "Whatever It Takes -- Reaching the One." For more information, visit AnnieArmstrong.com.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Homeless, pregnant and struggling with substance abuse, Melanie's life seemed hopeless as she slept under a bridge in Oklahoma City several years ago.

Then a newspaper article caught Melanie's eye about the city of New Orleans' struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Desperate to rebuild her life as well, she set out for New Orleans and on the path to a divine appointment with LoveLoud missionary Kay Bennett.

"Melanie contacted me and came into our transitional housing program," Bennett recounts. "She got a job, got into college and is working toward her social work degree now. She came to us because she knew she needed help, and we offered her the support she needed to succeed."

Melanie is just one of hundreds of women Kay Bennett is reaching through the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans.

With a motto to "meet needs through love, action and truth," the Baptist Friendship House exists to serve and support vulnerable women and children as they transition to new lives. The ministry offers housing to homeless women and children as well as life-skill training, from literacy and computer skills to GED and college preparation.

"Most of the women who come into our transitional program are getting out of a bad situation," Bennett says. "The important thing to realize is that these women often get stuck in vicious cycles of addiction or abuse, and if there's not someone there to help them break the cycle they have a hard time breaking free. Through Baptist Friendship House I'm able to come alongside them and help them get out of the cycle for good."

In addition to the transitional housing program, Bennett and her team host numerous outreach events throughout the year to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the community. At the crux of Bennett's ministry is a desire to reach the whole person, starting with their physical and emotional needs toward seeing them spiritually transformed through the power of Christ.

"We see people that come to us with deep needs, and many have never even heard who Jesus is. If I walk up to that person and start just quoting Scriptures without offering to help with their immediate needs, they'll never hear it," Bennett says. "When they come in and see us simply being Christ to them, that starts building a bridge to share the Gospel and see life change happen."

Bennett has been reaching the hearts of New Orleans through Baptist Friendship House for the last 15 years. Originally from Mississippi, she came to the city more than two decades ago to complete her master of divinity degree at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She served as a missionary at the Brantley Baptist Center for nine years before taking on her current role at Baptist Friendship House in 1997.

Bennett has developed a heart not just for the women and children of New Orleans but also for the city itself.

"New Orleans is such a laid back city with something for everyone," Bennett says. "If you've never fit in anywhere in your life, you would find a place to fit in New Orleans."

However, Bennett recognizes that much of what the city is known for today are the things that give it a darker side.

"There is certainly a heavier side to the city. Things like strip clubs, alcoholism, prostitution, they mark our city as well."

This year's March 3-10 Week of Prayer for North American Missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering provide support for Bennett and other missionaries like her who serve on behalf of Southern Baptists in North America. With a goal of $70 million, this year's offering theme is "Whatever It Takes – Reaching the One."

"For more than 20 years the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering has provided for my salary as a missionary here in New Orleans," Bennett notes. "I have not had to worry about raising funds to support me while I do the ministry that God has called me to do, and this allows me to totally focus on His work."

In boldly ministering to the needs of those needing rescue from the darker side of the city, Bennett has become part of the rapidly expanding battle against human trafficking in United States and, in particular, New Orleans.

"Human trafficking is the largest criminal industry in the world and the second largest in the United States," Bennett states. "In New Orleans, we have a lot of prostitution, a lot of clubs on Bourbon Street and we're located on I-10, the highest-rated corridor for trafficking in the country. These things make it easy for vulnerable girls to be transported through the city and sold for sex."

Through her ministry at Baptist Friendship House, Bennett is able to provide an alternative to those vulnerable to trafficking as well as directing those already victimized to safe havens in the city.

"It is really easy for someone living in desperation to be lured into a trafficking situation and then held captive there. New Orleans is an attraction for runaways, and runaways are attractive to traffickers," Bennett says. "We are trying to intercept these vulnerable girls and bring them into our program before they get lost. If they've been trafficked and rescued, we're able to work with local law enforcement to get them into a safe house."

Though it can seem risky at times, Bennett believes she is where she is supposed to be: on the front lines combatting the problems that plague the women and children in the darkness of New Orleans.

"In this work, I know I am in the center of God's will," Bennett says with assurance, "and there's no safer place to be."

Sara Shelton writes for the North American Mission Board. The annual Week of Prayer for North American Missions, March 3-10, and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering provide support for Bennett and other missionaries like her who serve on behalf of Southern Baptists in North America. With a goal of $70 million, this year's offering theme is "Whatever It Takes -- Reaching the One." For more information, visit AnnieArmstrong.com. For more information on Kay Bennett, visitanniearmstrong.com/KayBennett. For more information about becoming involved in reaching New Orleans with the Gospel, visit namb.net/NewOrleans.

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